Why hunt Nithyananda?

The controversial Swami Nithyananda is in the news again. The Karnataka government is hunting him so that he can be arrested.

The controversial Swami Nithyananda is in the news again. The Karnataka government is hunting him so that he can be arrested. He cannot be found in his ashram, where godmen are normally found. He has told his followers that he is ‘travelling here and there’, something that would be perfectly acceptable for a businessman, but is mystifying for a godman.

Many people seem to be happy that such a model citizen is being hunted like a common animal, but I am deeply disturbed. After all, he has only been accused of different types of sex-related crimes, and no proof beyond conclusive video evidence has ever been produced. Which is why I have made a list of his alleged misdeeds, along with an innocent explanation for each of them.

1. Sex with multiple devotees: Some people feel that Nithyananda should not have taken advantage of the faith of his female devotees. They point to video evidence as proof. To them I say: how do you know it was him? The video just had someone who looked a lot like Nithyananda engaging in various activities. It was nothing but a well-shot movie with well-cast actors.

And even if he did, what of it? He has recently written a book called ‘Guaranteed Solutions for Lust, Fear, Worry’. His acts were just research for the book. Of course, he left out fear and worry, but that’s OK, right?

2. Tiger skins and elephant tusks found in ashram: Another allegation levelled against the Swami is that his ashram lacks the simplicity of a true abode of god, and leans more towards the palaces of a particularly rich king. But I ask: What is wrong with a tigerskin rug? It just shows that his inner self is like that of Tiger Woods, and immediately explains away the accusations of sexual misconduct. The elephant tusks are slightly harder to explain, so I won’t try. Maybe he found them while walking in the forest.

3. Wearing a gold crown frequently: His detractors point to his love for opulence and garish displays of wealth as a negative point, especially the fact that he wears a gold crown whenever he can. But gold crowns are worn by many others - notably small children in mythological plays. Are they ever criticized for over-opulence?

4. Spiked holy water: Different visitors to his ashram have testified that the holy water made them feel dizzy, and suspected that it had some illicit substances in it. They, of course, are evil people bent on smearing his image. The holy water was actually holy water, and obviously anyone without holiness in them would feel uncomfortable on ingesting it.

5. Alleged relationship with an American woman for 5 years: Nithyananda’s critics sift through the mountains of evidence of his other sexual activities and point to this particular one as evidence of his evil.

What is wrong with a relationship with an American woman? Barack Obama has been in one for considerably more than 5 years, and no one seems to be targeting him for that.

There’s only one thing I can’t explain, only one thing that really goes against his innocence:

6. The Karnataka government is arresting him: This is the same government that turned a mostly blind eye to the Porngate fiasco - the same government that took a year to arrest its Chief Minister amidst allegations of a massive scam. If they are actually moving to arrest someone, the magnitude of crimes he must have committed must be impressive, indeed.